Ideas Worth Sharing
Christina Chan |
A colleague recently asked how I come up with talk ideas for CFPs. I've struggled with this too. How do I know what will resonate? What do I have the authority to talk about?
It's the same question whether you're submitting to a conference, writing a blog post, pitching a lunch and learn, or putting together slides for a team presentation.
If you've ever stared at a blank page wondering "who am I to share this?" — same, I've been there more times than I'd like to admit.
What helped me was a simple Venn Diagram.
Credit where it's due: this is adapted from my partner's improv comedy class, where the third circle was "funny" instead of "informative." Turns out the same idea works whether you're writing a sketch or writing a conference talk proposal.
The three circles:
- Unique to you: your perspective, experience, or take
- Relatable: something the audience can connect with
- Informative: something useful they can apply
The sweet spot is in the middle, where all three overlap.
"Unique" doesn't mean you need to be the world expert. It means you have a specific angle — maybe you learned something the hard way, or you've been in a role that gave you a different view of the problem.
"Relatable" is what makes people lean in. It's the shared frustration of debugging a flaky test, the anxiety of your first production incident, the awkwardness of giving feedback to a peer. When people see themselves in your story, they actually listen.
"Informative" just means they walk away with something. A mental model, a technique, a reframe. It doesn't have to be novel — sometimes articulating something people already feel but haven't named is plenty.
Miss one, and the content falls flat. Unique and relatable but not informative? It's a fun story, but probably not too valuable. Relatable and informative but not unique? It's likely been done before. Unique and informative but not relatable? Too niche.
Next time you're stuck on an idea, run it through the circles. If something's missing, figure out how to fill it.